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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22470004">Welcome to Rousseau's</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeMikaelsonClarke/pseuds/HopeMikaelsonClarke'>HopeMikaelsonClarke</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Legacies (TV 2018)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bartender Hope, F/M, Tourist Ryan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 06:36:04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,670</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22470004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopeMikaelsonClarke/pseuds/HopeMikaelsonClarke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hope is a bartender at Rousseau’s. One day a newcomer that’s just passing through comes in and there’s a mutual spark. Too bad he has no intention of sticking around. Or does he?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ryan Clarke/Hope Mikaelson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Welcome to Rousseau's</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The French Quarter has always been Hope Mikaelson’s home. She was born and raised there. She loved being from New Orleans. Rousseau’s was her home away from home, within her home. Even though it was first and foremost a bar, she had grown up going there with her family. It became even more of a home away from home when she started working there at the age of 18 and she moved into the apartment above the establishment. She had started out as a waitress, but now at the age of 21, Hope was a bartender, and she’s seen the same people day in and day out. But while most of the male patrons tended to be scumbags that would try and reach over the bar to grab her tits or ass, her coworkers were always quick to intervene and kick the guys out. For every 2 or 3 scumbags, however, there would be the one guy that wasn’t, and Hope had managed to make a handful of guy friends out of those few good guys.</p><p>But everything that Hope thought she knew about the different kinds of guys that she had seen come into the restaurant changed when a guy that Hope had never seen around New Orleans stepped inside, looking absolutely lost. And adorably so. Hope watched as his eyes roamed the interior before landing on her, and he gave her a timid smile while making his way around a few patrons that were leaving, before taking a seat at the bar.</p><p>“Care to help a guy out?” He asked, his adorably timid smile still in place, causing Hope to give him a genuine smile in return.</p><p>“Sure thing. What can I get you?” Hope asked as she slowly put her hands on the edge of the bar and leaned forward just enough to show off some cleavage.</p><p>“I know this’ll sound like an odd request, given the location, but do you, by any chance, have any tea?”</p><p>“Um... we have iced tea, would that work? We, unfortunately, don’t serve hot tea.”</p><p>“Iced tea will be just fine.”</p><p>“What do I call you? Because you look like a guy that could use someone to talk to, and I would hate to offer myself up without knowing your name.”</p><p>“Right... that would probably help. Most people just call me by my last name, Clarke, but my name is Ryan. What about you? What can I call the beautiful bartender? Wait... let me guess... Jessica?”</p><p>“It’s Hope, actually.”</p><p>“That’s a prettier name.”</p><p>“Thank you. My uncle chose it.”</p><p>“Long story, I take it?”</p><p>“Not really. But if you stick around long enough for me to get off of work, we can get to my story later. While I’m on the clock, you get to be the storyteller.”</p><p>Ryan gave Hope a smirk as she placed the glass of iced tea in front of him. There was something about Hope that had him wanting to tell her every little bit of his story, but he didn’t want to bore her, or keep her from the other customers. However, there was a small part of his brain that, when she had leaned over the bar to expose her cleavage, had wondered what it would feel like to mold her breasts with his hands, and that part wanted her to stay close to listen to his story, even if it ended up boring her. Shaking those thoughts away, Ryan nodded his thanks for the drink and took a sip.</p><p>
  <strong>Legacies – WTR – Legacies</strong>
</p><p>Over the next few hours, Hope circled back to Ryan, after checking on the other customers, as often as she could. They made idle chitchat as she would refill his drink, and they would make eye contact for a bit longer than necessary before one of them looked away with a small smile and/or a light blush on their cheeks. There was something about Ryan that drew Hope in, and she liked being in close proximity to him. There were a few times that Hope found herself wondering about what a long term relationship with Ryan would be like, but she always chided herself the second that she remembered that he was just passing through. Anything that happened between them, if anything <em>did</em> happen between them, would be short lived. But that didn’t mean that they couldn’t see what could happen in the short time that they had.</p><p>“So, how ‘bout it, Ryan? What had you looking so adorably lost when you came in here?” Hope asked while wiping down the bar top.</p><p>“My half-brother is a pain in the ass.” Ryan replied and Hope chuckled.</p><p>“Tell me how you really feel.” Hope said as her chuckle turned into a laugh.</p><p>“No really... after he graduated high school, which he just barely scraped by at doing that, he decided to take a ‘gap year’. Well, that gap year turned into 3, and now my step-mom is forcing him to find a college to go to and is forcing me to accompany him on this college road trip. The second we arrived in New Orleans, however, he insisted on stopping and blowing what little money he has on useless shit. If I didn’t find somewhere that served some kind of tea, I would have smacked him upside the back of the head... multiple times.” Ryan explained, and without thinking, Hope reached out and took his hands in hers.</p><p>“I’m glad you chose this place. I’ve always though that it’s a good place to escape the stress of real life.” Hope commented.</p><p>“I’m glad I chose this place, too.” Ryan agrees as he turned his hands in Hope’s and rubbed the backs of her hands with his thumbs.</p><p>“I’m almost off... so if you would like, we could grab a bite to eat and I can show you around.” Hope offered.</p><p>“No boyfriend that I need to worry about getting jealous for you spending time alone with a guy you just met?” Ryan asked with a raised eyebrow. She was too beautiful to not have someone special in her life.</p><p>“Not currently. My last relationship was a dud.” Hope replied.</p><p>“Good, then I won’t feel bad for doing this...”</p><p>Hope watched, completely stunned, as Ryan lifted one of her hands to his lips and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. With his mouth still pressed against her hand, Ryan glanced up at Hope through his eyelashes and Hope went weak in the knees.</p><p>“Finish your shift and I’ll finish my drink. And then I very much look forward to you showing me around.” He said as he let go of one of Hope’s hands to pull out his wallet. “How much do I owe you?”</p><p>“Its on the house.” Hope replied shakily.</p><p>“Are you sure you won’t get in trouble for giving away five iced teas?” Ryan asked, squeezing Hope’s hand, causing them both to realize that he was, in fact, still holding one of her hands.</p><p>Hope simply nodded as Ryan let go of her hand. Turning around, still a bit daze over Ryan having kissed her knuckles, Hope collided with her coworker Cami, causing a tray full of drinks to soak the front of both of their outfits. Hope squeezed her eyes shut out of sheer mortification. Of course on the day that she had no other work shirts, other than a white one, did she have to cause a half dozen drinks to spill down her shirt, making is see through. And of course it had to happen in front of the cute guy that she’d been lightly flirting with since he sat down at the bar. Hope could feel Ryan’s eyes on her, but she willed herself not to turn around... at least not yet. She needed to try and regain her composure before she faced Ryan.</p><p>“I’m so sorry, Cami.” Hope muttered as they both knelt down to start cleaning up the mess.</p><p>“It was my fault, Hope. I should have let you know that I was coming up behind you.” Cami replied.</p><p>“Mikaelson, O’Connell, have Josh clean that up and you two go clock out and head home.”</p><p>“Sure thing, Boss.” Cami called over her shoulder as their coworker, Josh, knelt down beside them.</p><p>“Hope, that hot guy that you’ve been talking to all afternoon... he hasn’t stopped staring at your ass since you turned around. Do you want me to kick him out?” Josh asked.</p><p>“No, it’s okay Josh. He’s not like the others. But thank you.” Hope replied as she stood up.</p><p>Taking a deep breath, Hope turned back towards Ryan. Seeing his eyes darken with lust as he eyed her ruined shirt, but not doing anything else at the realization that she wasn’t wearing a bra, had Hope letting out the breath she was holding. If Ryan had processed that the only thing between himself and Hope’s breasts was her shirt, well, he didn’t show it. And while she was thankful that he wasn’t reacting, Hope was also a little let down that he wasn’t. In the few hours that they had known each other, Hope had started to <em>want</em> Ryan to reach out for her. She <em>wanted</em> him to want to reach out for her.</p><p>“I’ll uh, be right back.” Hope said as she ducked her head to hide the blush staining her cheeks and darted out from behind the bar and went to walk behind Ryan’s chair, only for him to gently stop her.</p><p>“Here, take my jacket.” Ryan said as he draped the black leather over her shoulders.</p><p>“Thank you.” Hope muttered as she pulled the jacket closed and stepped around Ryan.</p><p>As she fully passed him, Hope reached out and took Ryan’s hand in hers, lightly tugging at it to get him to follow her. When he followed without question or complaint, Hope couldn’t help the smile that tugged at her lips. After she clocked out, Hope led Ryan out of a somewhat hidden side door and up a set of stairs to the apartment above the bar.</p><p>“Is this your place?” Ryan asked as he glanced around.</p><p>“Yeah. My family’s home was getting a bit stifling, so when I started working at Rousseau’s when I turned 18, the owner gave me a good deal on the place; lower price to buy the apartment as long as I was okay with fixing it up myself.” Hope replied. “But, uh, make yourself at home. I’m just going to take a quick shower and change, and then we can head out.” She added as she handed him back his jacket.</p><p>“Do you make it a habit of bringing strange men back to your apartment after just meeting them?”</p><p>“You’d be the first... but other than you having a typical guy’s reaction to realizing that I’m not wearing a bra under my shirt when it got wet, you didn’t try anything inappropriate; and you even offered me your jacket to cover up. So... if I’ve misjudged your intentions, please tell me now and I’ll happily kick you out.”</p><p>“Nope. You definitely have not misjudged.”</p><p>“Good. I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Pressing a brief kiss to Ryan’s cheek, Hope moved towards her bedroom to grab a change of clothes before heading to the bathroom. As Ryan listened to Hope moving about her bedroom and bathroom, he slowly walked around the rest of the apartment, taking everything in that he could. This was all just a little piece of who Hope was, he wanted to know more. But then he came across her paintings, and it was like getting a deeper look at her soul. When Hope rejoined him, Ryan was in the process of analyzing the paintings that were hanging on the walls.</p><p>“Did you do all of these, Hope? Because they are amazing.” Ryan commented.</p><p>“Thank you. I did most of them, but the big one... New Orleans’ skyline at night with the full moon, my dad painted that one. The ones that I’ve done are in honor of him.” Hope replied with a sad smile.</p><p>“I’m sorry... I...” Ryan stammered.</p><p>“You didn’t know. And that’s okay, because you had no way of knowing. I paint to honor him, and I know that he and my mom are both still watching over me.” Hope explained.</p><p>“When did they pass?” Ryan asked slowly.</p><p>“6 years ago when I was 15. But I had the rest of my family to support me. We all lived together in our ancestral family’s home, it was what was expected of my family, for all of us to live together. But all of the memories, both good and bad... they were in every nook and cranny, and it started to suffocate me. So I moved out at 18, moved in here and had the first sense of true freedom that I’ve ever had. The family members that are still alive, they still live there, and it’s here in New Orleans, so I still see them pretty regularly.” Hope explained as she blinked back tears.</p><p>“To be perfectly honest, I’m sort of glad you don’t still live with your family, because I’m sure if would have been extremely awkward to explain to them why you were coming home with a wet shirt, and a strange man in tow.” Ryan replied as he brushed away the few tears that trailed down Hope’s cheeks. “First impressions are always important.” He added.</p><p>“Yes they are. And even if I did still live with my family, they wouldn’t be allowed to comment on who I choose to bring home. I’m an adult and I can make my own decisions.” Hope said with a shaky smile. “Where would you like to eat? Here, downstairs or somewhere else?” She asked, changing the subject as she stepped away from Ryan slightly.</p><p>“You know where the best places to ear are, being the local and all, so I’ll leave that choice up to you.” Ryan replied.</p><p>“Well... all I have here is frozen pizzas in the freezer, since I haven’t had a chance to go shopping yet, so if that’s okay with you, we can heat those up.”</p><p>“I haven’t had a decent frozen pizza in a while, so that sounds good to me.”</p><p>With another smile, Hope laced her fingers with Ryan’s and led him back to the living room.</p><p>“Go ahead and pick out a movie. I’ll get the pizzas going.” Hope said.</p><p>“Or... I could help you get the pizzas going.” Ryan offered.</p><p>“It doesn’t take much... preheat the oven, put the pizzas in, and set the timer.” Hope replied with a smirk as she ticked the steps off on her fingers.</p><p>“Okay... you caught me. I just want to be around you. Is that a crime?” Ryan asked.</p><p>Before Hope could respond, there was a commotion outside the front door, as if someone had tripped up the stairs, and a determined knock immediately following it. Raising an eyebrow at Ryan, Hope made her way over the door and opened it.</p><p>“Um, can I help you?” Hope asked.</p><p>“Are you Hope?”</p><p>“That depends... who are you, and what are you doing here?”</p><p>“My name’s Landon, and I’m looking for my half-brother, Ryan. The bartender downstairs mentioned he saw Ryan come up here with you... if you’re Hope.” Landon replied.</p><p>“I am.” Hope said simply.</p><p>“So... is my brother here?” Landon asked.</p><p>“He might be.”</p><p>“Look, I don’t know why you’re being so hostile towards me right now, but if my brother is here, I need to know. It’s not like he can stay in New Orleans anyway.” Landon commented with a smirk as he looked Hope up and down with a predatory gaze.</p><p>“How do I know that you are who you say you are? You could be impersonating Ryan’s brother for all I know.” Hope replied, fighting against the urge to fold her arms across her chest, knowing that the action would accentuate her chest.</p><p>“It’s okay, Hope. He’s telling the truth... unfortunate as it may be.” Ryan called from the other room as he moved towards the front door and tentatively placed a hand on the small of her back.</p><p>“Dude, where the hell have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Landon snapped as he took in how comfortable Ryan and Hope were with each other.</p><p>“First of all, none of your business; second of all, no you haven’t. You’re happy whenever you’re ale to get away from me. Don’t pretend that you actually enjoy spending time with me. You and I both know that if it wasn’t for Seylah forcing us both to go on this trip together, neither of us would willingly want to be around the other.” Ryan said as he covered Hope’s hand that was holding the door open with his free hand, lacing their fingers together. “Now scamper off and I’ll see you in the morning at the hotel.” He added before slamming the door in Landon’s face.</p><p>“Jackass.” Landon said before stomping down the stairs.</p><p>Hope rolled her eyes at Landon’s comment before looking up at Ryan. Without the heels that she had been wearing for work, she realized that there was close to a foot of height difference between them.</p><p>“Do you really have to leave tomorrow?” Hope asked as she bit her lower lip.</p><p>“We leave in a couple days, but tomorrow is his tour of University of New Orleans, and because he doesn’t have his license, I have to drive him.” Ryan replied as he reached up and lightly pulled Hope’s lip out from her teeth with his thumb and lightly ran it across her lip. “I’d much rather spend my time in a more entertaining way, with someone that I actually <em>want</em> to spend time with.” He added, brushed some strands of Hope’s hair behind her ear.</p><p>“Do you have to stay with him during the tour?” Hope asked, leaning her cheek against the palm of his hand.</p><p>“To make sure he actually takes the tour, unfortunately. Why? What did you have in mind?” Ryan asked.</p><p>“I have tomorrow off, so I was going to offer to go with you, and say that once he gets there, I could show you around some more of New Orleans.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t mind having the company. But I don’t want to subject you to spending the day with Landon.” Ryan replied as his hands tentatively fell to Hope’s hips and slowly pulled her closer. “Even those few minutes just now were a few minutes more than I wanted you to have to endure. But thank you for being so protective of me. I’ve never really had that before in my life.”</p><p>“Then you have the wrong people in your life.” Hope said as her hands moved up Ryan’s chest and around his neck, stepping closer to him.</p><p>“May I kiss you, Hope?” Ryan whispered.</p><p>“Uh huh.” Hope replied with a brief nod.</p><p>Everything about the kiss was slow and sensual. They took time to explore each other’s mouths with their tongues, but their hands didn’t move from their spots. When the kiss eventually broke so that they could breathe, Hope realized that, at some point, she had gone up on her tows to help close the height difference some, and that her body was pressed firmly against Ryan’s; the result being that she could feel his erection pressed against her lower belly and the tops of her thighs.</p><p>“That was amazing.” Hope whispered as she lowered herself to be flat footed again and rested her forehead against Ryan’s chest.</p><p>“Yes it was. Now I’m unsure if I want to leave New Orleans in a few days.” Ryan agreed while wrapping his arms around Hope so that he could rub her back and tucked the top of her head under his chin.</p><p>“Then don’t leave. Your brother has to learn to grow up eventually. Why not throw him in the deep end and make him find his own way home?” Hope suggested.</p><p>“Because the second he got home he would spin this tale of how I abandoned him for some girl and my step-mom would hunt me down and kill me for doing that to her sweet baby boy.” Ryan replied with a sigh.</p><p>“I am not just <em>‘some girl’</em>. I am Hope Mikaelson. My ancestors helped build New Orleans. And if I ever find out that your brother even so much as muttered those two words, a smack upside the back of his head, and a semi-hostile verbal exchange would be the least of his worries.” Hope growled, and she felt Ryan’s chuckle more than heard it.</p><p>“You are a feisty little one, aren’t you?” Ryan asked.</p><p>“I am not that little.” Hope replied, tilting her head back and sticking her tongue out at Ryan.</p><p>“You are a foot shorter than I am, Hope. To me, you are little.” Ryan commented. “My feisty little bartender.” He added while pressing a light kiss to the top of Hope’s head.</p><p>“That’s a bold words to use after only knowing each other for a few hours.” Hope replied with a raised eyebrow.</p><p>“I stand by it. But if it makes you uncomfortable, I won’t say it again.” Ryan said.</p><p>“I didn’t say I was uncomfortable, Ryan. I said it was bold choice. But what about you? Are you comfortable?”</p><p>As she spoke, one of Hope’s hands trailed down Ryan’s chest. Right before she got to the waist band of his jeans, however, Ryan quickly, but lightly, grabbed Hope’s wrist to stop her from going further.</p><p>“I’ll be okay.” Ryan said as he lifted Hope’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to her inner wrist.</p><p>“If you change your mind... the offer to help is an open one.” Hope commented as she stepped back to give them both some space. “At least until you leave New Orleans.” She added with a smirk and a wink over her shoulder as she turned to head to the kitchen.</p>
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